SA mining production down 4.3% year-on-year in April

JOHANNESBURG - South Africa' mining output fell by decreased by 4.3 percent in April compared with the same month last year, the national statistics agency said on Thursday.

Statistics South Africa said the largest negative contributors to the decline were platinum group metals (PGMs), which slid 6.5 percent, deducting 1.5 percentage points. Other metallic minerals tumbled 36.3 percent, while diamond production fell 24.1 percent and gold was down 5.5 percent.

Seasonally adjusted mining production decreased by two percent in April compared with March 2018, following a drop of 3.5 percent in March and a slight increase of 0.2 percent in February.

"Seasonally adjusted mining production decreased by 3.4 percent in the three months ended April 2018 compared with the previous three months," Stats SA said.

"Ten out of the twelve mineral groups and minerals reported negative growth rates over this period," it added, listing iron ore, PGMs, and other metallic minerals as the largest negative contributors.

The agency said mineral sales increased by 6.1 percent year-on-year in April, with manganese ore, coal, other non-metallic minerals and iron ore being the main positive contributors.